News for… Valentine’s Day!

Most modern mobile phones have phone books that can hold at least 100 phone numbers (if not many more). For most of us, that’s more than plenty. So if you have some leftover space, why not consider adding some “important” numbers to your phone? This post over at MarcAndAngel.com lists “10 Handy Numbers to Save in Your Mobile Phone”. Most of their suggestions apply to everyone: a local locksmith, a local towing service and\or AAA, the 800 numbers off the backs of your credit cards, the direct number of a coworker (so they can pass messages along to other employees), a “Home” and\or “Work” entry (in case an honest soul finds your cell phone), and the number of a free directory assistance service (they prefer Google’s 1-800-GOOG-411; both myself and Ars Technica prefer Microsoft’s 1-800-CALL-411). Some suggestions – like adding the 800 numbers for all the airlines – only apply to road warriors. A few of their suggestions seem to be a little odd… the number for your primary care physician? I guess that’s a good idea if you have some sort of condition, but I can’t imagine needing to randomly call my PCP. Your auto insurance claims number? Isn’t that printed on every insurance card? Still, it’s good info, and I’d like to add my own contribution: the number of a local taxi company, the number of a good bail bondsman (hey, you never know!), the number of a good restaurant and the number of a friend with a truck… ‘cos you never know when you’re going to need to buy a new 50″ HDTV… or move a body!

Have you heard about the American spy satellite that’s falling to earth? The US military is planning to shoot it down… Cool!

In case you haven’t heard, Polaroid is going to cease production of film for all Polaroid cameras, effectively killing the Polaroid format. This is sad. I mean, it’s not like you couldn’t see it coming… especially since the Polaroid Corporation filed for Chapter 11 back in 2001 (the brand is now owned by a holding company that will gleefully slap the once respected brand name onto any subpar electronics). Still, the Polaroid camera was a thing of wonder when I was a kid, and it makes me sad to see it go.

Leave to to the Finns to come up with a unique solution to an age-old problem: apparently the toilets at Finnish rest stops were being vandalized at an alarming rate. So the Finnish government came up with a high-tech solution: users will have to text the word “open” (in Finnish, of course) to a number on the restroom’s door. The government hopes that people will think twice about spraying graffiti if they know the government knows their mobile phone number!

And lastly for today, a couple of videos for you to enjoy. The first is from Jane Fonda’s classy appearance on the Today Show, where she discussed the name of her “role” in a production of The Vagina Monologues (I’ll give you a hint: you can’t say it on TV and it rhymes with “bunt”):

Secondly, enjoy the first teaser trailer for the new Indiana Jones film: